COMSTOCK TOWNSHIP — Comstock Township's tax break approved tonight for Mann+Hummel USA Inc. will help the local manufacturer make battery frames for the new Chevy Volt electric car.

View full sizeCourtesy imageA Chevrolet Volt electric vehicle is assembled at the General Motors Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly Plant last November.

David Gordon, strategy management officer for Mann+Hummel, told the Comstock Township Board the tax abatement of 50 percent over six years will enable the firm to hire 13 new employees and transfer 24 others from its Portage plant, which is too small for expansion plans. Mann+Hummel, which has had a plant in Comstock Township's Midlink Business Park for the past two years, will keep the Portage facility open.

The Comstock Township plant will "produce battery frame assemblies that transport the coolant that will dissipate the heat from the battery packs," according to literature provided by Mann+Hummel. "The plastic intake manifold for the Volt's 1.4-liter combustion engine also is being designed by Mann+Hummel and will be produced in the Portage facility."

Gordon said the company is making capital investments of $6.7 million for specialized equipment, including electric injection molding machines. The plant in Comstock Township is part of a larger overall project for the company, which has received a MEGA Tax Credit in 2009 from the State of Michigan.

Meanwhile, the company is hiring as many Michigan-based companies as possible to help with the project. "We really put the stress on having Michigan suppliers (for the project)," Gordon said.

The 13 new jobs are expected to pay average salaries of about $30,000 a year, Gordon said.